End of Term 3 Michael Festival Fun

The Parkerville Steiner College Class 7 and 8 students celebrated the end of Term 3 by joining their High School peers at the Bibra Lake Campus for a fun morning of Michael challenges. The Michael Festival games are designed to embody the hope and courage that the image of Michael represents. They serve as a reminder that by uniting as a community, we can conquer challenges that would be impossible alone. 

The Parkerville students were warmly welcomed into their groups, made up of Class 7-10 students from both campuses and they enthusiastically (and often competitively) took part in the range of activities on offer. The day was filled with abundant sunshine and memorable moments as the groups rotated through activities which included codebreaking, a breakout box, blind battleship, poetry crafting and a very, very soapy slide! 

Energised, enthused, and exhausted the students then took off for a well-earned holiday. 

Class 7 Art Lesson 

“By working with clay, we have the opportunity to integrate our thinking, feeling and willing. It is a formative, forgiving and therapeutic material, full of potential to not only give us joy, but to extend and teach us about ourselves” 

This Semester the Class 7’s donned their surgical art smocks and began exploring the world of sculpture. We began Term 3 with Renaissance figure drawings, complimenting the Class 7 Renaissance History Main Lesson, before moving on to study the human form, first through quick sketches, and later through clay sculpting. The students found the task both challenging and enjoyable, testing their will throughout.   

First, students formed their clay into a ball, before pulling out sections to create a star. By lengthening the points of the star, the Class 7 students formed a basic human figure. At first the clay was soft, and easy to manipulate, but students quickly found that if they pushed the medium too far, it would dry out and fall apart. The class had to problem solve and adapt as the clay changed, and their designs with it. The class persevered and produced figures as unique and individual as the students themselves.  

Throughout the term, the Class 7’s learned many new skills such as, how to shape, join and smooth clay to create recognisable forms. They honed and extended their skills, concluding Term 3 by producing creative monsters and creatures.

Krystal Hickman 
Visual Arts Teacher 

Class 8 Craft Lesson

Knitting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery - what could possibly come next for the Class 8’s, who are always looking for something new and interesting? In Term 4, the Class 8’s will harken back to their early Steiner years as they immerse themselves in the ancient craft of spinning wool, a traditional skill that connects people to nature and to the long history of textile production. It's a valuable hands-on experience that can teach students about the process of creating yarn from raw materials. 

After washing the dirt, grease and impurities from the raw wool fibers, the wool is combed to align the fibers and remove any remaining dirt, it is then ready for spinning on a drop spindle, a skill that requires practice, focus, and coordination. 

Learning these traditional skills not only offers a practical understanding of how textiles are made but also promotes patience, precision, and an appreciation for traditional crafts. It is a wonderful way to connect with history and nature while developing a new set of skills. 

The capacity for conceptual thought lies on a higher level of cognitive development. The process of abstraction can be exercised by having the students analyse their own work. When students analyse their crafting work, such as figuring out why a piece of wool became too thick in a particular area or why it kept snapping, they are engaging in several important cognitive processes, including problem-solving, considering cause and effect, metacognition, and abstraction. 

Once the wool is spun, the students will dye the wool, and use the spun wool to create their own unique Dream Catchers, a creative and meaningful project for the Class 8 students who are beginning to weave their own dreams. Dream Catchers are beautiful and culturally significant objects in many Indigenous cultures, particularly among Native American tribes. These decorative items are believed to protect people from negative dreams and energies by capturing them in the web while allowing positive dreams to pass through and descend upon the sleeper. 

When I hear, I forget. 
When I see, I remember. 
When I do, I understand. 

Ancient Chinese Proverb 

Alison Anthoni 
Craft Teacher